November Showings will wrap the theater tour of classic anime.
Whether you are a kid, have your own kids, or are just a kid at heart and want to share a great family experience, then Ghibli Fest 2017 is a great chance to find out what classic Japanese anime is all about. The film fest is introducing Japanese anime to a much broader audience this summer and into fall by re-releasing the movies into theaters in this series.
Starting in June 2017, and running through November 2017, movie goers have the 
unique opportunity to see the highly acclaimed animation of Studio Ghibli and legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. The studio began producing award winning anime in 1984.
Both devoted fans and new viewers alike have the opportunity to experience these classic anime films on the big screen, the medium they were created for.
Most of the films featured were released at later dates than those in Japan. So, for many, this will be the first opportunity to see these on the big screen in with original release dates going as far back as 1984.
Studio Ghibli anime is popular with teens and young adults as well people of all age groups. Though the name isn’t a household word in the U.S., many Fantasy and Science Fiction aficionados will now recognize the characters and the films. This is due to the accessibility of original video animation in Anime that has changed in the U.S. in this decade. These films were not released in theaters in the U.S at the time they were created. The boom that would have grown exponentially in the 80’s and 90’s has overcome the barriers faced back in those years, bringing the beautiful art of the films featured in Ghilbi Fest to viewers in the west today. Contributions to the dubbed and subtitled material for westerners have become more widespread and affordable than just 2 decades ago. With the additional influx of Japanese manga, comics created in Japan or by creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan, more of the material is gaining popularity and that is showing in massive projects like Ghost in the Shell.
Ghibli Fest features six of Studio Ghibli’s revered animated classics offering both dubbed and subtitled versions. Once a month there will be another film favorite from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki in featured cinemas.
Eight of Ghibli’s films are among the highest grossing Anime films made in Japan. Founded on 15 June 1985, the studio films have won many awards including Animage Anime Grand Prix and the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. Even anime newbies will recognize their mascot Totoro. The iconic and adorable character has even shown up in the the blockbuster film Toy Story 3. Five of Studio Ghibli’s films received Academy Award nominations in the United States. Spirited Away won a Golden Bear in 2002 and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2003.
The anime world felt quite a loss when, on August 3, 2014, Studio Ghibli announced it was temporarily halting production following the retirement of director Hayao Miyazaki, who co-founded the studio with Isao Takahata. In February 2017, it was announced that Hayao Miyazaki has come out of retirement to direct a new feature film with Studio Ghibli. Described as a visionary by the film and animation industry, fans worldwide are eager to see what the legendary director creates next.
One weekend each month through November, Studio Ghibli Fest 2017 will feature one Miyazaki classic in participating theaters. The fest started on June 25th and 26th with the big-screen presentation of My Neighbor Totoro, a delightful film for all ages. To get a list of details, trailers and find a theater near you visit FathomEvents.com
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Two young girls, Satsuki and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuki and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) The beloved story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt. July 23 (dubbed) July 24 (subtitled)
Castle in the Sky (1986), the story of a young girl who 
falls out of the sky and into the arms of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island, the site of a long-dead civilization promising much to those who can unlock its secrets.
August 27, (dubbed) August 28 (subtitled)
Nausicaä (1984)
The debut film from Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is considered by many to be his masterwork. Set in a devastated future world decimated by poisons, Nausicaä is the story of a young princess whose love for all living things leads her into terrible danger and eventual triumph.
September 24 (dubbed) September 25 (subtitled)
Spirited Away (2001) Academy Award-winning masterpiece was the biggest box office hit of all time in Japan and helped redefine the possibilities of animation for American audiences and a generation of new filmmakers.
Wandering through an abandoned carnival site, ten-year-old Chichiro is separated from her parents and stumbles into a spirit world where she is put to work. Here she encounters impossibly inventive characters and must find the inner strength to outsmart her captors and return to her family.
October 29th (dubbed) 30th (subtitled)
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
The story of Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, who finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl.
November 26 (dubbed) November 27 (subtitled)
Trivia:
After the heavily re-written and edited 1985 release of Nausicaä in the United States and Europe (as “Warriors of the Wind”), which substantially changed the movie in addition to cutting nearly 25 minutes of footage, Hayao Miyazaki was hesitant to release any of his film’s outside of Japan. Miyazaki demanded that any new licensor for his films be contractually bound to do no edits whatsoever aside from a straight translation and dub. Disney (who bought the rights to all of Miyazaki’s films except The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) has honored this stipulation.
Grimmedian 